Due diligence is of particular concern. With both a lack of visibility into upstream activity and growing market expectations, downstream customers—as well as governments worldwide—are pursuing approaches that mitigate uncertainty and risk.

To this end, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published last week an important joint report on “The Role of Traceability in Critical Mineral Supply Chains.” First and foremost, the IEA and OECD assert that critical mineral supply chains cannot be secure, reliable, and resilient unless they’re responsible and sustainable. Moving to more critical mineral-based economies will mean that responsible business practices and traceability have to advance hand-in-hand.

Second, traceability plays an increasingly important role for governments in achieving their policy objectives, including energy security, and is a critical tool for strong and efficient due diligence processes. Recognizing that countries are expanding mineral traceability, IEA and OECD offer policymakers an 8-step process for effective incorporation.

With more governments and businesses needing to prove the provenance, geographic flow, and a verifiable chain of custody of critical materials, IEA and OECD recognize that deploying technology brings clear benefits—like streamlining data collection and providing real-time updates with greater accuracy and reliability. By automating processes, companies reduce workloads and expand their ability to trace materials across global supply chains.

The report, in and of itself, marks today’s reality that traceability is quickly becoming the standard for doing business, for both companies and policymakers. And while traceability is neither a goal unto itself nor does one approach to traceability fit all supply chains and materials, for businesses today and in the future, it creates resilience and competitiveness.

What we’re reading…

€6.6 Trillion Investor Group warns against rolling back EU Sustainability Reporting Regulations

The European Commission’s proposal for weaker environmental and corporate sustainability rules for a large majority of businesses in Europe could ‘backfire’ by hampering investments into industries that the EU is trying to attract, says investor groups with a total of 6.6T under management. Losing access to information on companies' sustainability credentials could be a barrier to investment, especially as Europe races to compete in clean technologies. Here’s more on the latest.

Companies can maximize their management for natural capital with 10 tests

Nature degradation—including biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and natural resource shortages—has emerged as one of the world’s foremost global economic risks. McKinsey highlights that companies who develop and implement effective management strategies for natural capital can secure lasting advantages through both enhanced resilience and access to nature-related opportunities. McKinsey’s 10 steps for doing so are found here.

Europe introduces the much anticipated Clean Industrial Deal

Cleantech is at the heart of European industrial competitiveness, energy, climate and innovation policy, solidified through Europe’s new Clean Industrial Deal. ESGtoday shares more on the landmark strategy that aims to create a joint roadmap for competitiveness and decarbonization through measures that support manufacturing in Europe and scale circularity to reduce overdependencies on third country suppliers for critical raw materials.

What we’re sharing…

Tackling global regulatory complexity with supply chain due diligence

Join us next Thursday, March 20th at 15:00 CET, alongside our partners Kumi Consulting and Charline Daelman of Panasonic, as we help you cut through complexity regarding supply chain due diligence requirements. The webinar will unpack the global due diligence landscape, including the EU Batteries Regulation and the impacts of the EU Omnibus and trade restrictions that shape today's global supply chain due diligence practices. Sign-up here.

More models, more transparency: Volvo’s all-new ES90 comes with a Battery Passport, powered by Circulor

Volvo Cars all-new, fully electric ES90 comes with a battery passport, powered by Circulor. The passport shares the origin and production journey of the battery's lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite, as well as percentage of recycled content and the CO₂ footprint for the full battery pack. Volvo’s continued and growing deployment of battery passports to more EV model lines showcases their leadership in providing unprecedented supply chain transparency. As this increasingly becomes the market and consumer expectation, all automakers will need similar transparency by February 2027, at the latest, and should start today. More on the ES90.

Learning from Digital Product Passport success stories

Catch up and revisit highlights from the Battery Pass closing event which took place in Brussels on February 25th. As the 3-year project comes to an end, it's an opportunity to celebrate and share the advancements in battery passport implementation that set a blueprint for all digital product passports. The value of DPPs for industry, consumers and regulators is clear and as Amaryllis Verhoeven of the European Commission DG GROW remarked during her keynote, they also play an enabling role in trade and international competitiveness. Find all the videos and materials from the event on the Battery Pass website.

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